My father always returns home from trips with loads of extra hotel soaps and shampoos. He's a "saver" and the hoarding of these tiny bars and bottles seemed unnecessary. That is, unnecessary until I learned that once or twice a year he donates his bounty to a local homeless shelter.

From now on, I'm going to try to do the same. In fact, at the recent BlogHer Conference, I asked the organizers to ask attendees to donate their extra, unopened soaps. My friend Veronica found a Chicago agency that helps women in need that welcomed the group donation and collection baskets were set out. Admittedly, BlogHer SOS was a last minute effort and we didn't collect the hundreds of bottles I'd hoped for, but we did get a sizeable donation.

More importantly, many bloggers buzzed about the SOS campaign and pledged to make that a part of their travel routine in the future. I also learned that many already do save their soaps for a good cause. Do  you?